Curator Aprina Murwanti was probably the only person who was sad upon hearing the news that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo wore a green bomber jacket at a press conference in November last year.
The new exhibition, “Fast Fashion — The Dark Side of Fashion and Slow Fashion Lab,” at Gudang Sarinah in South Jakarta, discusses the negative effects of fast fashion, while promoting slow fashion as its opposite and alternative.
“The alternative to fast fashion is slow fashion.
For Aprina, slow fashion and fast fashion are also about the behavior of consumers themselves.
In a workshop, I meet a worker who told me that she was paid Rp 10,000 [less than US$1] to 30,000 a day.” In Pekalongan, batik makers still use naphtol as a coloring agent for dyeing batik.
Recent World Bank statistics state that approximately 20 percent of global industrial water pollution comes from the textile industry.
Citarum River, the longest and largest river in West Java, is named one of the dirtiest rivers in the world.
The status is worrisome because the 40 million people who rely on the river use 80 percent of their water for drinking, according to Greenpeace.
In the past, water and the textile industry had an intimate relationship.
Many of Kana’s products have one-size-fits-all measurements to avoid excess production.

Innolux to invest in water-conservation tech.
According to Chief Sustainability Officer Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), Innolux is aiming to meet its target of sustainable management of water resources by pairing the Water Resources Agency’s data on water with the current oversight of water-related operations at the company.
Earlier in March, President Tsai Ing-wen declared sustainable water management as the government’s "most important policy responsibility," after water shortages due to climate change had become a yearly obstacle for both the agricultural and the industrial sectors.
Local media reports found that Innolux has long been committed to the sustainable use of water, stressing "water recycling, water regeneration, and water neutralization" as the three key pillars of its water sustainability development blueprint.
The management system is reportedly capable of tracking the performance of plant equipment, factory events, and water supply to allow Innolux a better understanding of future water resources.
Water Conservation Efforts In 2008, Innolux introduced the MBR-RO systems for water reuse into its manufacturing plants, thereby adopting the world’s most advanced water recycling technology.
With this technology, 14 of its Taiwan-based plants actively promoted an effective water recycling policy that on average reused 95 percent of their water supply.
This rate of recycling far exceeds international standards, according to local media reports.
In 2016, the company recycled 589,000 tons of rain water, akin to 235 standard-size pools.
Sustainability as a Goal The Innolux Education Foundation announced on Tuesday that it would take on Taiwan’s poor air quality as well as reforestation as key issues for the foundation to address.

Long spells of drought are followed by rains.
However, even when the volumes of the rains are huge, no sustainable measures are put in place to harvest and conserve the water from such rains.
A few years ago a Masters student at the University of Nairobi was presenting a proposal on mechanisms to harvest and store road run-off water.
The reality, though, is that harvesting and storing run-off water and rain water through roof-harvesting will go a long way in addressing the country’s water needs.
Kenya can learn lessons from such countries and implement those it finds useful.
Harvesting rain water will also help many local communities to move away from rain-fed agriculture.
With the erratic rainfall patterns in the country, reliance on rainy seasons so as to plant crops will negatively affect crop yields and compromise the country’s food security.
Beyond the launch, it will be necessary to see what amount of resources is allocated to rain water harvesting.
We also have to address issues relating to water quality and supply.
The initiatives on harvesting water has to move to how the water once harvested is stored and eventually distributed so as ensure that all citizens are guaranteed access to water.

STEM expo: sustainability has a central role.
During the April 8 third annual STEM Expo at Wellesley High School, students and residents showcased nearly 100 exhibits covering various aspects of STEM such as robots, technology and engineering innovation, coding, environmental education, chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology.
Three WHS Evolutions students who participate in a project-based learning environment exhibited the details and benefits of their aquaponics project.
This cycle complements both the lettuce grown above the tank and the water and fish below it, as the plants filter out and redistribute clean water back into the fish tank.
They learned that this system can be used to feed high school students greens in a cheaper and local way.
Since the Town of Wellesley is working to increase its national ranking for voluntary renewable energy through the Power To Choose Program — and make its lower carbon footprint goal — this year’s Sustainability Challenge was very topical.
"It was evident that these students put in a great deal of time and energy into researching the topic, forming opinions and creating their projects," said Jessica Stanton, of Wellesley Green Schools.
Middle school students did a similar project, as three different Design and Technology classes used the newly built greenhouse to create a sustainable system to grow the maximum quantity of high-quality greens to feed students at WMS.
“It’s a really nice way to preserve water and great way of growing.” Two other Evolutions students, Calvin Lindquist and Tommy Wasson, proposed installing solar panels on Wellesley Middle School after their research determined it would be beneficial for the school to do so.
By using a plastic model of a town, featuring hills, rivers, farms, homes, a factory and a golf course, people sprinkled different smaller substances around parts of the town, representing fertilizers and pesticides among others.

Water-related business risks are becoming more and more apparent.
That’s why CDP, the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute and WWF are calling for a new approach to setting corporate water targets.
Local context matters—a lot.
As such, water targets at each company facility need not only account for company circumstance, but also for the larger watershed conditions and risks.
Aligning company performance with the local river basin context is increasingly considered a requirement for meaningful water targets.
Science, instead of individual interests, informs what needs to change and when.
That means corporate targets for water use must be based on science and understanding at the basin level, and not set arbitrarily.” Mars is using the latest science on the global carbon budget, water stress and other ecological limits to set meaningful sustainability targets for greenhouse gas emissions, water and land.
Governments and local basin initiatives are at the forefront of water management.
Because of this, companies have a lot to gain by aligning their water goals with local, national and global water priorities, such as the Sustainable Development Goals.
The California Water Action Collaborative is a unique platform that links companies to state water goals.

Keep usable items out of the trash and obtain quality items without buying new with the Hennepin County Choose to Reuse site (http://www.hennepin.us/choosetoreuse).
Choosing to reuse helps us live sustainably by reducing waste, saving natural resources, conserving energy, preventing pollution, and saving money.
The main feature of the Choose to Reuse site is a tool that directs you to the best reuse businesses for your needs.
This is where the Choose to Reuse website comes in to help.
The site can help you with common searches, such as where to buy quality used clothes near you.
Lastly, the site covers all 145 zip codes in Hennepin County, so you’ll be able to find information whether you live in Minneapolis or Independence.
There are benefits of reducing and reusing for our environment, in our communities and our homes.
The process of making new items uses natural resources and raw materials, which can harm the environment for future generations.
Reuse retailers provide residents the option to save money while still getting quality items, instead, of buying new items at a much higher price.
All of these are important reasons to check out the new Choose to Reuse website and start taking action to reuse today.

Panel presentations highlight how the Sacramento Valley, Madera County, Monterey County, and Ventura County are working to establish Groundwater Sustainability Agencies The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), passed in the fall of 2014, established a new structure for managing California’s groundwater resources at a local level.
We can’t make that necessarily happen by June 30 so we’re trying to work with them to let them know that in the interim the county will be party to this agreement that we’re working out, and this uber GSA that we’re calling it, and that down the road we hope that they can become customers of existing districts, which kind of helps so that they don’t have to go and form their own agencies.” In Glenn and Colusa counties, they have taken a much more formal approach with respect to private pumper participation, but in Yolo County, they have struggled with the issue.
The agencies that may have worked really hard to bring surface water into the area are concerned that maybe those groundwater extraction limitations will be placed on them and they don’t believe that’s just.” Some agencies are considering going it alone and they’ll have to work through a coordinated effort with the other agencies that are hoping to join together, Ms. Sicke said.
I think that you have to all try to work together to get to this common goal of groundwater sustainability over time.” Groundwater Sustainability Agency formation is really setting the stage to successfully develop and implement a Groundwater Sustainability Plan, said Ms. Sicke.
New subsidence has been discovered in the area just to the east of their boundaries.
“In the middle there next to Road 4, we saw up to five feet of subsidence over those five years.” He then presented the map of subsidence with the location of the water districts in the area.
“This happens to be in two counties we’re looking at.
There is the Chowchilla Water District; they’re in the process of forming GSA.” The county is in the process of forming a GSA to cover the areas between the exchange contractor’s districts and the other districts.
They have been working with landowners in the area and their vision is to form their own water district to manage the water supplies they need to manage as part of this program, and to have their own GSA coverage, he said.
“The Collaborative Working Group members, the county, our agency, and the city of Salinas are focused on working through these challenges with these folks.

What does it mean for a product to be “Eco-Friendly”?
Not all products are completely biodegradable, but the more organic materials used in a product, the more biodegradable the product and better for the environment.
Brand Example: Svilu Buy It!
Brand Example: Back Beat Rags Buy It!
Brand Example: Ashley Pittman Buy It!
Ashley Pittman Earrings, $375; ashleypittman.com What does it mean for something to be upcycled?
Often, companies will supplement environmental sustainability with programs that give back to communities or provide training to artisans, creating lasting sustainability qualify What is sustainable production?
Can a product be eco-friendly, but not sustainable?
Can a product be sustainable, but not eco-friendly?
This does not mean that the product is necessarily eco-friendly; however, it’s pretty safe to assume that if something is eco-friendly or sustainable, that it has been ethically made.

Regenerative Cannabis Discussion at Willits Hub – Evening of Friday, April 14 (press release).
MENDOCINO Co., 4/11/2017 — The Eel River Recovery Project will hold an event on sustainable cannabis farming at the Willits environmental hub on April 14.
The event will take place on Friday evening, April 14 from 6-9 PM and will be preceded by a fish barbeque.
The evening will be moderated by Bruce Hilbach-Barger of ERRP and the discussion will be open to local experts and practitioners to contribute their perspective.
Presenters will include Anna Birkas and Noah Cornell of Village Ecosystems, small organic cannabis farmer Mickey Bailey, Traci Pellar of the Mendocino Wildlife Association (MWA), and Pat Higgins also of ERRP.
Pat Higgins of ERRP will make a short presentation on the findings of Eel River Monitoring and Water Quality Awareness Pilot Project Final Report, which is available on-line at www.eelriverrecovery.org.
Noah Cornell is a soil fertility expert and will discuss how building living soils can not only increase your garden yield, but also cut down on the amount of water your plants need.
Mickey Bailey will be sharing the perspective of a small farmer currently applying for legal status.
He called ERRP in 2015 for technical assistance for his farm on the Eel River at the mouth of Woodman Creek downstream of Dos Rios.
Traci Pellar will share her perspective on the impacts of cannabis farms on wildlife in Mendocino County.

UNESCO & EU launching the second module of Capacity Building Support for the National Water Sector of Iraq [EN/AR].
Erbil,10 April 2017- In the framework of joint efforts towards supporting the Iraqi government in overcoming the devastating impact of water shortage, UNESCO and the European Union (EU) have initiated the Capacity Building project component under phase II of the water sector flagship-intervention "Advanced Survey of Hydrogeological Resources in Iraq" (ASHRI-2), a pioneering initiative aiming to improve national capacities in the exploration, administration and integrated management of groundwater resources, and to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of public planning, as well as informed policy making in the National Water Sector.
Since its launch in November 2013, ASHRI-2 has delivered critical data, information and knowledge management tools on the groundwater conditions in Iraq.
Based on internationally applied Best Practices, ASHRI-2 has deployed state-of-the-art methodologies and techniques in geo-scientific assessment, cartography and IT-based documentation supporting strategic groundwater resources’ management.
"Acquiring a full understanding of the water shortage in Iraq is the first step towards effectively addressing its deep social and economic impacts", stated the Director of UNESCO Iraq Office, Louise Haxthausen.
Adhering to internationally recognized and applied best practices, the project will substantially contribute to informed decision-making, and thus sustainable use of national groundwater resources.
At the same time, the outcome of ASHRI-2 can be key to open doors for trans-boundary management of shared water resources to address water governance, adaptive capacity towards climate change induced water scarcity ", added Mrs. Haxthausen.
EU Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Simonnet, said: "this project illustrates very well the importance of effectively managing water resources in Iraq.
Water is key in this region, and we should not lose track of its future, ensuring a sound and sustainable management of water and land resources.
We are confident that UNESCO, in cooperation with the Iraqi authorities, will bridge the gaps at this critical time and provide all the necessary tools to face the challenges of water shortages – not only for Iraq, but beyond.” Through a EU contribution of five million Euros, "ASHRI-2" has validated and updated essential data and information on Iraq’s groundwater resources, improving the government’s management capabilities in this field.